Looking around, it did feel like I was coming home. "But this place, it must have cost a fortune. Real estate in this area is astronomical." I shook my head.
"It was a minuscule amount. I have amassed quite the fortune in my six hundred years. I actually own a small island, six homes across the world, one castle, and more, so real estate is just part of my vast holdings." He shrugged again as if it was nothing to have so much property.
Shaking my head, my eyes settled on a door leading to the back yard. "Is that the door to the garden?" I took a step forward, elated that I might see what Solomon had seen when he bought the place.
"Yes." He walked over to the door and opened it for me with a sweep. It didn't even seem that he had unlocked the door because it happened so quickly.
Looking up at him as I walked by, I gave him my most thankful smile. He was always the gentleman around me—patient, kind. He hadn't even pushed me to kiss him before and that made me feel safe around him.
Walking out onto the grass outside the door, I noticed that the yard wasn't large at all. It was the size of an average suburban yard but it was skirted in huge bushes all the way around, dotted with amazing hydrangeas throughout each bush. They were so heavy with the flowers that the bushes seemed to droop ever-so-slightly. My breath caught in my throat as I slowly spun on the spot until I noticed that Solomon was standing directly behind me. My eyes were huge and I could feel the shock showing in my eyes.
He was looking down at me with those piercing blue-green eyes. Taking a deep breath, which was just a sign of his emotions and nothing else, he reached out and rested his hands on my upper arms, slightly squeezing them before he began to run his hands up and down the arms to my elbows and back up. Goosebumps began to spread across my arms from the point where his hand was and outward. I shivered involuntarily.
"Celeste." His voice was heavy, throaty. My heart sped up at the sound of it.
"Yes?"
A long pause hung in the air before he began, "Do you like the house?" His shoulders drooped slightly. He clearly didn't want to start that way.
Closing my eyes I took a deep breath, "Yes. Absolutely." The breath came out with the words, making it sound like it was covered in heavy clouds of air.
He smiled down at me and let his hands float down to mine. He was going to kiss me, I just knew it. My mind didn't know how I felt about that. My heart began to speed up—clearly
it
knew how to feel.
He leaned down slightly and brushed his cool lips against mine. I closed my eyes and immediately felt his strong arms around me.
Thoughts were racing through my mind, trying to find a foothold while my heart beat frantically at the thought of Solomon holding me. This seemed so… odd. Yes I had asked him to kiss me, and yes he had kissed me… and it was amazing for lack of a better word. But the problem was, now it felt like I was a newbie and this was my first kiss… ever.
Why would I feel so incredibly inexperienced? I have a husband for heaven's sake. Clearly I've kissed before! Snap out of it!
A tiny shiver ran up my spine as I felt his hands drift towards my face, brushing the sides of my breasts on the way up with his strong thumbs. My body tingled in response to his touch.
YIKES!
His firm hands were framing my face gently when I finally opened my eyes. Solomon was staring at me intently as if I were the only woman in the world. Like he was trying to read my mind.
Could he read minds?
"Solomon, I… "
"Shhhh. I just want to remember this moment—it has been many years in the making, my love." Leaning down again he kissed me gently and then leaned into the kiss, pulling me closer by wrapping his arms back around me. His lips began to test mine with their cool strength. My body began to hum as his kisses began to drift up my cheek, across my eyes and back down to finally rest at my throat. He was kissing gently just above my pulse point and for some reason, I really
liked
it.
"You know, Solomon. I don't remember you acting like this before, ever." I pushed against his chest gently to get control of the situation.
My lips were pulsing from the firmness of his kisses and my mind was swirling from the intoxicating smell that he was emanating. His natural musk and the smell of nature and clean. When he was finally at arm's length, I looked at him intently, trying to read his expression.
Breathing deeply, Solomon gripped my arm with one hand and held my head in place with the other. "You are stronger now. Mortisha said it herself." A burning fire appeared just behind his eyes and my stomach clenched up.
"Are you hungry, Solomon? Maybe you should eat."
Was he planning on eating me?!
"Yes, I'm hungry." He ran his cool fingers over my skin as if it were silk, "but not in the way that you think."
Holy cupcakes!
"What in the world would you mean by that?" My voice wobbled feebly.
Please don't get excited, please just calm down, Celeste!
"I am hungry. Truly hungry. But not for what feeds the body—I am hungry for what feeds the soul and … .the heart." He gazed at my eyes deeply, sending rivers of excitement through my nerves. He was passionate about what he was saying but I still couldn't get my mind to truly… get it.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
My heart began to sing out loudly to me, speeding up to the pace of an Olympic sprinter. Was he planning on drinking from
me
? Something inside me told me yes but my heart told me no. I didn't know what to think.
Shaking my head I pushed away from him and walked over to a heavy bush to brush my fingers against the petals. Blue and purple, gorgeous. The aroma of so many hydrangeas was intoxicating even though they had a very subtle smell.
Strong arms surrounded me and I could feel myself being turned by his hands. There was no reason to fight him so I turned and looked at him once again.
"What do you want, Celeste?" He looked deeply into my eyes as his warm voice washed over my senses, "What would make you feel better about what I'm saying to you?"
"Solomon, I just don't get it. You're my guard, a knight and a… king?"
He nodded sharply.
"Huh. How could you be a king if you were my guard?" That just didn't make any sense.
Nodding, he released me and began to pace across the garden. "When I met you I was already a king in Europe but I had been the youngest in my line. When I was a prince I had three brothers and a father on the throne, it seemed necessary for me to find a path in life at the time. My desires to find my place in life led me to explore many different realms and experience a lifetime of adventures. But they were already gone and I needed a distraction from ruling a kingdom so I decided to attend your tournament just for enjoyment. I needed the distraction and I thought that your tournament would be the perfect venue." He ran his hands through his hair and continued to stride back and forth.
"I didn't care what happened when I first attended the castle. It was just like anywhere else and the tournament was not going to be a challenge—none of them ever were. When I was getting ready one morning I saw you… I told you about it. Following you was all my body and mind could think about—I was drawn by you. Natural instinct told me that I was probably interested in drinking from you. Most beautiful women in my world were nothing to me but willing donors." He paused for effect.
"Have you ever… from
me
?" I was still fuzzy on all of my details.
"No." His answer was stiff and a tad bit hostile. He was touchy about the subject.
Hmmmm
.
"So… " I prompted him.
"So when I realized you were the queen you had already been attacked."
"What?! I was attacked! In the castle?" My volume went from high to low in the same sentence. I was beginning to think my life was even scarier than I thought originally.
"That is why fate had me follow you—you were in danger. Every part of my being told me that afterwards. It was obvious that I was meant to be your protector, your shield." He nodded to himself and then turned back to walk the other way across the yard.
"So I have never left your side from that day, as your knight and then you made me your general after you knew of my military background and strength. When you disappeared my only concern was finding you and I have spent every moment scouring, searching, consulting witches, warlocks, shamans, and psychics. They were all no help at all, but I never gave up and each time I found you, always in the midst of some trouble. For some reason, fate has always brought me to you when you were in danger. When I turned that corner that night in the parking lot it was as if we were reliving every past experience as well. You were as beautiful as ever, but you were in danger just like always. It took everything I had not to go completely feral and tear that demon apart in front of you. But that would have made you run from me which was the last thing that I wanted." His body stopped, staring at the ocean view.
"Solomon, how did you become king and why are you still with me?"
With a sigh, Solomon turned to me, "Being the fourth in line for the throne was not of big consequence for me. All of my brothers had the same upbringing and there was honestly no competition between any of us. I had always been the spoiled and selfish one. My choice to become a vampire was also very selfish to my family. Everyone knew that I wasn't afraid of death, but when a vampire witch made me the offer of eternal life, I couldn't pass it up. My father was extremely disappointed in me but his opinion of me hardly ever changed a thing that I had done in the past. It was just a part of my fate, it turns out."
My curiosity was piqued, "How so?"
"My family was slaughtered during one of my trips touring the country. I was on a rare diplomatic mission, ensuring that the villagers had what they needed and that there was no ill will about the particularly harsh winter. The people were all very supportive of the king and his rule. The kingdom was doing well and they felt it was directly because of him. And it was—he was a truly just and strong king." His eyes glazed over, recalling memories of a family that was long past gone.
"What did you do? After your family was… "
"As soon as word reached me I traveled back and destroyed every single hostile entity in the castle." He sighed heavily, pain evident in his voice, "And then I was king. It's not that big of a deal. Really, my title is more honorary now because my lands have been absorbed in Europe. There was no reason to hang around and pretend to be something that I wasn't."
"Where in Europe?" My curiosity swelled.
Shrugging he shook his head and said deliberately, "It is of no consequence. The past is the past."
Was he trying to drive me crazy with the mystery?
He turned to walk back to me and brushed the back of his hand against my cheek. I could feel the blood rushing in under his cool touch. My heart picked up pace as I looked into his eyes.
"When I first laid eyes on you I knew that I could never leave you. It wouldn't have mattered if I had twenty kingdoms to rule—I would have never left your side. You always seemed to be in some danger or another. The thought of possibly losing you would have been too painful. There was always the haunting feeling that I was the only one that could truly protect you. Every part of you." He stared down into my eyes, his eyes flickering just slightly in the darkening night. Twilight was looming ever closer but, being so close to the true horizon allowed us much more time of true light than most would have enjoyed.
I stared at him. Solomon was a king and he wouldn't leave my side. I was perplexed that he would consider being my guard, my knight before attending to the concerns of his kingdom. Shaking my head, I looked down at my feet. This was an odd situation to be in to say the least.
"Solomon, why would you do all of this?"
"All of what?" His hands were on my arms again and I could see his feet just across from mine. His boots shone in the subtle light.
"The house, the search, never leaving me… why?" Looking up into his eyes was a mistake—they were on fire and burrowed into me.
"Couldn't you guess why?" His hands squeezed slightly.
"I can guess… " I shrugged my shoulders.
He didn't say a word as he leaned down towards me and allowed our lips to meld back together, brushing his tongue past my lips to explore my own. A tiny moan escaped me when I realized that my body had taken over. I was amazed at how intense my feelings were towards Solomon. A flash of warmth swam from my stomach to the rest of my extremities. The kiss was intense and electrifying—beyond any of my collective memories or wildest dreams put together. My mind spun so quickly that my body began to lose balance. Feeling my body drift away in the deluge of hormones, I could hear Solomon saying my name in the back of my mind. It sounded soft and gentle, like he was reading a poem, and then it was rough and loud.
"CELESTE!" I heard his voice directly near my ear and I could feel him gently shaking my body. "Dammit!"
When I opened my eyes I was standing in a rock-lined hallway. Actually, it was more of a corridor and I realized that I had transported again. "Damn!" I whispered under my breath. Where the hell had I been yanked to this time?!
Shaking my head, I looked down at myself. I was still wearing my jeans, lacer boots, and a v-neck black t-shirt. Okay, I could live with that.
I have to find a way out. I have to get back to Solomon
.
I ran down the corridor, ducking past doorways, glancing down hallways and following the staircase upwards to get a bearing on where I was.
There has to be a window somewhere.
Instinct told me to keep quiet. Pausing for a second, I listened instinctively. A brush of feet on a rock floor made me aware of an intruder. My natural flight response kicked in automatically—I had to run.
Picking up the pace I began to weave my way through large rooms—first a conference room it seemed, then a library. I had wound my way up three flights of steps and was about to duck into another room when I heard a low growl just ahead of me. My body froze and tensed up as I skidded to a halt. My hands flew in front of me as my mind prepared to defend myself.